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Assassination of Palestinians …
An Israeli Official Policy
Report on Extra-Judicial killings Committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces
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Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org
web-Page: www.pchrgaza.org
This is the fourth in a series of reports published by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on assassinations committed by Israeli forces during the al-Aqsa Intifada. This report documents assassinations in the period 1 May – 28 September 2002. PCHR has published three previous reports on assassinations committed by Israeli forces.[1] PCHR’s first report on assassinations, covering 29 September 2000-28 April 2001, documented 13 assassination operations that killed a total of 13 targeted Palestinians and 6 bystanders. The second report on assassinations, covering 29 April-28 September 2001, documented 26 assassinations that killed a total of 22 targeted Palestinians and 12 bystanders, including children. The third report on assassinations, covering 29 September 2001-30 April 2002, documented 30 assassinations that killed 42 Palestinians and 16 bystanders, including 8 children.
In this most recent period, Israeli forces committed 20 assassinations,[2] killing 55 Palestinians, including 28 targeted Palestinians and 27 bystanders, 14 of whom were children, 2 were elderly, and 4 were women. In addition, 141 Palestinians, including 2 targeted Palestinians and 139 bystanders were wounded, some of whom sustained permanent disabilities.[3]
The total number of assassinations carried out by Israeli forces from 29 September 2000 to 28 September 2002, has now reached a total of 91 operations, in which 105 targeted Palestinians and 61 bystanders, including 24 children, 7 women and 8 old people. In addition, 19 targeted Palestinians and 234 bystanders were wounded. Most of these assassinations took place in the West Bank, where Israeli forces committed 77 assassinations that left 84 targeted Palestinians and 37 bystanders dead. In the Gaza Strip, 21 targeted Palestinians and 24 bystanders were killed in assassinations committed by Israeli forces. In the first year of the Intifada, Israeli forces committed 41 assassinations, killing 35 targeted Palestinians and 18 bystanders, and wounding 65 others. In the second year of the Intifada, Israeli forces committed 50 assassinations, killing 70 targeted Palestinians and 43 bystanders, and wounding 188 others.
The international silence has encouraged Israeli forces to commit more grave breaches, including war crimes, against Palestinian civilians. Over the past few months, there has been a quantitative escalation in assassination attempts by Israeli forces against Palestinians. Israeli forces have employed F-16 fighter jets in assassination attempts.[4] In the period under study, Israeli forces used F-16 fighter jets in two assassination attempts in the Gaza Strip. On 14 July 2002, Israeli F-16 fighter jets launched two missiles at an uninhabited house owned by ‘Aabdul Rahman Yousef ‘Aabdul Wahab. The first missile went astray and fell onto a neighboring tract of agricultural land. The second missile directly hit the facade, destroying parts of the second and ground floors. According to ‘Abdul Wahab, his son Yousef, 24, who is wanted by Israeli forces, was in the house with four of his friends. They were all able to escape when the first missile hit the tract of agricultural land. On 22 July 2002, an Israeli F-16 fighter jet launched a 1-ton missile at the house of Sheikh Salah Shehada, who is wanted by Israel. The missile directly hit the house which located in a highly populated area. The house and two others were totally destroyed and 32 adjacent houses were seriously damaged. Sixteen Palestinian civilians, including 8 children, the youngest of whom was only 2-month-old, were killed. Two women and their five children, two old people, and Sheikh Salah Shehada, his wife, daughter and bodyguard, were among the victims. More than 70 civilians were also wounded, one of whom lost his eye.
Israeli forces have also used other methods in assassination attempts, most notably demolishing houses of targeted persons over whomever inside. In this context, on 14 August 2002, Israeli forces surrounded a house in which Nasser Jarrar, 41, wanted by those forces, had shelter in Tubas village near Jenin. An exchange of fire took place between the two sides. Soon, Israeli military bulldozers demolished the house over him. Jarra was physically handicapped.[5]
According to PCHR's documentation, 38% of those killed and 93% of those injured in assassination attempts by Israeli forces were bystanders and victims of the "margin of mistakes" (not targeted according to Israeli claims). These facts refute Israeli claims that assassinations are carried out accurately through technologically advanced weapons, with the possibility of harming a limited number of Palestinian civilians. These high numbers of casualties among innocent civilians strongly indicate that Israeli forces carry out assassinations with little or no regard for lives of bystanders.
The Israeli government openly claims responsibility for liquidations and unapologetically claims that such acts are part of a policy of "self-defense." Yet circumstances of assassinations committed by Israeli forces refute Israeli claims that they are part of a policy of "self-defense." For example, on 18 June 2002, Israeli forces shot dead Yousef Bisharat, 21, from Tammun village near Jenin, before the eyes of people, after having arrested him at an Israeli military checkpoint in Hebron. On 2 August 2002, Israeli forces shot dead Amjad Jbour, 35, from Salem village near Nablus, after having arrested him at his house. On 12 August 2002, Israeli forces shot dead Ghazal Fureihat, 21, from al-Yamun village near Jenin, after having arrested him at his house, claiming that he attempted to escape. On 14 May 2002, Israeli forces shot dead Lieutenant Colonel Khaled Abu al-Khairan, 38, from al-Fawar refugee camp near Hebron, and Lieutenant Ahmed ‘Abdul ‘Azziz Zama’ra, 26, from Halhoul village near Hebron, when they attempted to escape in their car. One of the victims bled to death. On 16 May 2002, Israeli forces shot dead Mohammed Taha Ahmed Ghannam, 21, with three live bullets in the chest and the right leg. Then, they threw his body onto the street. Ghannam’s body was taken to Ramallah Hospital. According to medical sources, Israeli forces used sharp tools to distort his body.[6]
The period under study witnessed a significant escalation in the use of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces as human shields during assassination attempts that targeted Palestinian activists, even though lives of those civilians were endangered. On 2 August 2002, Israeli forces raided the house of Rida Eshtayeh and forced him to leave the house and accompany them towards the home of Amjad ‘Abdul Hadi Jbour, 35, a Hamas activist. They forced him to enter Jobour’s house and ordered him to get out with his hands over his head and without clothes covering the upper part of the body. When Jobour got out of the house, Israeli forces arrested him and then shot him dead. On 14 August 2002, Israeli forces took Nidhal ‘Abdul Ra’ouf Abu Muhsen, 19, out of his house in Tubas village, near Jenin, to the cemetery of the village. They forced him to put on a bullet proof suit, similar to that used by Israeli soldiers. They let a dog follow him. They forced him to go to houses in the area and tell their residents to leave, in an assassination attempt that targeted Nasser Jarrar. Sounds of explosions and shooting were heard in the village. Jarrar was killed. Later, Israeli forces delivered Abu Muhsen's body to the Palestinian side, claiming that Jarrar shot him when he got close to the house.
Israeli forces commit extra-judicial assassinations against Palestinian field and political activists of various organizations, even though they can arrest and present these activists to a fair trial.
The policy of assassinations is officially adopted by the Israeli political and military establishments, and judicially covered by the Israeli Supreme Court. In his comment on the assassination of Salah Shehada, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated in the weekly meeting of his cabinet, "We have hit the most important activist of Hamas, the person who reorganized Hamas in the West Bank, in addition to his activities in the Gaza Strip. We did not intend to harm civilians…"[7]
In the period under study, Israeli forces used the following methods in the assassination of Palestinian activists:
1. Firing at the victims by undercover units, from military locations or at military checkpoints.
2. Firing at the victims from tanks.
3. Shelling houses or cars where the victims are present by combat helicopters.
4. Shelling houses where the victims are present by warplanes.
5. Planting bombs in cars of the victims.
6. Demolishing houses where the victims are sheltering.
Assassinations constitute extra-judicial executions under international humanitarian law and are thus illegal; they represent a distinct subset of willful killings insofar as they are clearly premeditated and targeted. Assassinations are carried out without any judicial process, including presentation of evidence or opportunities for defense or appeal.
Article 3(1) of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention), the overriding instrument of international humanitarian law governing occupation, provides:
“The following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever…:
)a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture…”
Moreover, under Article 27 of the Convention, “protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons” and that “they shall be at all times humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof.”
Article 32 of the Convention prohibits "taking any measure of such a character as to cause the physical suffering or extermination of protected persons." It further provides that "this prohibition applies not only to murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation and medical or scientific experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment of a protected person, but also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or military agents."
According to Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, willful killings are considered grave breaches, i.e. war crimes, covered by the principle of universal jurisdiction. All High Contracting Parties to the Convention are obliged “to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before their own courts” (Article 146).
Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that "everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."
Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Israel is a party, provides that “every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court considers these practices as war crimes. The Statute states that "war crimes means:
"(a) Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention:
(i) Willful killing;…
(b)….
(iv) Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects….
(vi) Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defense…
(c)…
(iv) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all judicial guarantees which are generally recognized as indispensable.
(e) …
(ix) Killing or wounding treacherously a combatant adversary…"[8]
The Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal and Summary Executions prohibit all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions. Principle 1 provides:
“Governments shall prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions and shall ensure that any such executions are recognized as offences under their criminal laws, and are punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the seriousness of such offences. Exceptional circumstances including a state of war or threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked as a justification of such executions.”
In his report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967 asserted that "Israel’s freely acknowledged practice of selected assassination or targeted killings of Palestinian activists cannot be reconciled with provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, such as articles 27 and 32, which seek to protect the lives of protected persons not taking a direct part in hostilities. They also violate human rights norms that affirm the right to life and the prohibition on execution of civilians without trial and a fair judicial process. There is no basis for killing protected persons on the basis of suspicion that they have engaged or will engage in terrorist activities. In addition, many civilians not suspected of any unlawful activity have been killed in these targeted killings, in the bombing of villages or in gunfire exchanges, in circumstances indicating an indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force.”[9]
Human rights organizations have made legal efforts to stop extrajudicial assassinations committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian activists. In this context, the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW) and the Public Committee against Torture in Israel submitted an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court on 25 July 2002, based on their previous appeal (769/02), requesting issuing an order nisi to make the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the Defense Minster Benjamin Beneli'zer, and the Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon stop extra-judicial assassinations. The petitioners reminded the court that the state in its reply to their petition on 24 January 2002 claimed that the policy of assassinations is carried out in "a responsible manner and that the main concern is not to harm innocent people."
PCHR has documented extra-judicial assassinations committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian activists since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000. PCHR has prepared a legal file on the assassination of Sheikh Salah Shehada and Zaher Nassar on 22 July 2002, which left them and 14 other civilians dead and injured 77. In addition, 11 houses were totally demolished and 32 were damaged. PCHR, as the representative of the victims' families, is due to sue the case against Israeli forces. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the Israeli judiciary has refused to provide compensation to Palestinian civilian for the damage they sustained by the Israeli practices against them and their property since the beginning of the Intifada. In its reply to the cases sued against Israeli forces, the Israeli prosecution claims that Israeli practices against Palestinian civilian and their property take place in the context of "military necessities" allowed by the international humanitarian law.
Case (1)
Targeted Persons:
1. Lieutenant Colonel Khaled Abu al-Khairan, 38, from al-Fawar refugee camp, head of the PNA General Intelligence Service in Halhoul; and
2. Lieutenant Ahmed ‘Abdul ‘Azziz Zama’ra, 26, from Halhoul, a member of the General Intelligence Service.
At approximately 01:00 on Tuesday, 14 May 2002, a special unit of Israeli forces moved into Zabboud neighborhood in the northwest of Halhoul in the West Bank. They besieged the neighborhood and took up position around offices of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service. Abu al-Khairan and Zama’ra attempted to escape in their cars, but Israeli forces opened fire at them from close range, wounding them.
Israeli forces took the two out of the car; one of them was dead while the other was still alive. Soon, Israeli soldiers severely beat him for approximately 30 minutes until he died. Then, Israeli forces withdrew from the area.
Israeli forces had earlier moved into Halhoul on Monday morning, 11 February 2002, when combat helicopters had shelled Zama’ra’s house. Israeli forces then demolished the house after having searched for him without success.
Case (2)
Targeted person:
Mohammed Taha Ghannam, 21, from Ramallah
At approximately 04:00 on Thursday, 16 May 2002, special units of Israeli forces, reinforced with dozens of armored personnel carriers and military jeeps, moved into Um al-Sharayet neighborhood in Ramallah. They surrounded al-Rabi’ building and broke into a flat on the second floor. Soon, they shot dead
Mohammed Taha Ahmed Ghannam, 21, with three live bullets in the chest and the right leg. They then threw his body onto the street. They also arrested two unidentified young men and withdrew from the area at approximately 05:50.
Ghannam’s body was taken to Ramallah Hospital. According to medical sources, Israeli forces used sharp tools to distort his body, as there were injuries in the upper part of the body, and that he was shot from a close distance. Ghannam was a member of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service wanted by Israeli forces.
Case (3)
Targeted persons:
1. Mahmoud ‘Abdullah al-Titi, 31;
2. ‘Emad Salim al-Khatib, 27; and
3. Eyad Samir Hamdan, 23; all from Balata refugee camp near Nablus.
At approximately 19:00 on Wednesday, 22 May 2002, while the three members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades were in the cemetery of Balata refugee camp, Israeli tanks at al-Tour Mount, south of Nablus, fired several Flechettes shells that killed the three.
A passing civilian, Bashir Mohammed Ya’ish, 31, from Nablus, was seriously wounded. He was evacuated to hospital where he later succumbed to his wound.
Israeli forces admitted responsibility for the assassination. The Israeli daily Yediot Aaharanot on its Arabic web page quoted an Israeli military spokesman as saying that “the most wanted Palestinian in the West Bank, Mahmoud al-Titi, was killed by a tank shell in the cemetery of Balata refugee camp after he was identified.” He added that “al-Titi held a meeting in the place with some activists of Fatah Movement according to intelligence information. A tank moved and fired several shells at them.”
In his testimony to the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), an eyewitness said:
"At approximately 19:00 on Wednesday, 22 May 2002, while I was in my house located south of the cemetery, I heard a heavy explosion. I opened my door opposite to the cemetery and I saw many people hurrying towards the cemetery, which is opposite to an Israeli military location on al-Tour Mount. I also ran towards the cemetery, where I saw bodies of there persons cut into parts. Most hits were in the head and I saw many darts that hit their bodies. I also saw a person who was wounded, who was, as I knew later, Bashir Ya'ish. He was hit by many darts."
Case (4)
Targeted person:
Walid No'man Subeih, 28, from al-Kahder village near Bethlehem
At approximately 17:30 on Monday, 17 June 2002, Subeih stopped his private car near his bakery at Bethlehem-al Kahder road. When he got out of the car, Israeli forces on al-Bakush Hill, west of al-Kahder village, adjacent to the settler road (60), fired at him from a distance of approximately 400m. He was killed by approximately 10 medium caliber bullets in the neck, the chest, the abdomen and the back.
His car was also hit by approximately 10 live bullets. Subeih was a Fatah activist in Bethlehem and had been wanted by Israeli forces since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada.
Case (5)
Targeted person:
Yousef Ahmed Bisharat, 21, from Tammun village near Jenin
At approximately 15:00 on Tuesday, 18 June 2002, Bisharat, a student of Hebron University, was traveling in a taxi that had an Israeli number plate at the eastern entrance of Hebron, apparently traveling to his village. Israeli forces at a military roadblock stopped the taxi. They forced all those who were traveling in it to get out of it and to take their clothes off.
Israeli soldiers checked their identity cards, and soon they opened fire at Bisharat, killing him. Bisharat was an activist of the Islamic Jihad and was wanted by Israeli forces. When he traveled in the taxi, he was not armed. Israeli forces fired at him after they had found out his identity.
After they assassinated Bisharat, Israeli forces arrested three Palestinian civilians who were traveling in the taxi. According to Palestinian medical sources, Bisharat received more than 14 live bullets in the upper part of the body.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces continued to fire at him from a very close distance even after he died. Bisharat’s brother Mohammed was also assassinated by Israeli forces on 1 July 2001.
Case (6)
Targeted persons:
1. Yasser Sa'id Rizq, 29; and
2. Amir Mohammed Quffa, 28, both from Rafah.
At approximately 07:00 on Monday, 24 June 2002, an Israeli apache helicopter fired two missiles against a taxi carrying five passengers. When hit, the taxi was only about 500 m from Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital. The shelling completely destroyed the car, all five passengers were killed. They are:
1. Yasser Sa'id Rizq, 29, a Hamas activist. He was on his way to the hospital for medical treatment after he was injured in his hand at the beginning of the month.
2. Bassam Sa'id Rizq, 32, the brother of Yasser. He was accompanying his brother to the hospital.
3. Yousef Sa'id Rizq, 24, also a brother of Yasser, was also accompanying him to the hospital.
4. Ameer Mohammed Quffa, 28. His house was attacked by the Israeli Occupation Forces a few months ago in an attempt to arrest him, but he was not there.
5. Sami 'Omar 'Omar, 29, the taxi driver.
In addition, other cars driving in the area, were hit by big pieces of shrapnel. Midhat ‘Abdul Hadi al-Jourani, 17, who was sitting in the back seat of one of the cars, was killed when his head was separated from his body by shrapnel. Moreover, 13 other bystanders were injured. The bodies of the victims were too damaged to be immediately identified.
Case (7)
Targeted persons:
1. Muhannad Hafezh al-Taher, 26; and
2. ‘Emad al-Din Nour al-Din Darwaza, 24, both from Nablus
At approximately 15:00 on Sunday, 30 June, Israeli forces, reinforced with dozens of tanks and a combat helicopter, surrounded a two-story house owned ‘Ammar Jamil al-Masri in the northeast of Nablus. Immediately, they intensely fired at the house, then called through loudspeakers on al-Masri and his family, who live on the first floor, to get out of the house with their hands up and without clothes on the upper part of the body. When al-Masri got out of the house, Israeli forces arrested him. Later, Israeli forces claimed that he was evacuated to an Israeli hospital since he was wounded. Israeli forces also handcuffed and blindfolded his child Suhaib, 13, and took him to an unknown destination.
At approximately 18:00, Israeli forces resumed shelling the house throughout an hour, claiming that wanted Palestinians from Hamas were having shelter on the upper floor of the house. The Israeli combat helicopter also launched three missiles at the house. Most of the house was destroyed and fire broke out into it. Two Palestinians were killed:
1. Muhannad Hafezh al-Taher, 26, accused by Israeli forces of leading the military wing of Hamas in Nablus; and
2. ‘Emad al-Din Nour al-Din Darwaza, 24, accused of being al-Taher’s assistant, brother of Salah Darwaza who was assassinated by Israeli forces approximately one year ago.
According to al-Masri’s wife, Kholoud Rashad al-Masri, 34, Israeli forces destroyed remains of the house using bulldozers and artillery shells. She said that the destiny of her husband and child was still unknown. She also asserted that her husband was not wounded when he was arrested contrary to Israeli media reports.
On the following day, the Israeli prime minister stated that his forces carried out a successful assassination that targeted two wanted members of Hamas.
Case (8)
Targeted persons:
1. Jihad Isma’il al-‘Aamarin, 46; and
2. Wa’el Jawad al-Namara, 33, both from Gaza.
At approximately 21:00 on Thursday, 4 July 2002, a heavy explosion occurred in al-Thawra Street, branch of al-Nasser Street, in Gaza City. Palestinians hurried to the area to check what happened. They found a civilian car, white Mercedes, approximately 150m north of Shifa’ Hospital, burning. They saw parts of the body of one passenger on the ground, while the body of another passenger was still in the car. The two passengers were identified as:
1. Jihad Isma’il al-‘Aamarin, 46, an from al-Zaytoun neighborhood, an officer of the Palestinian Public Security Service; and
2. Wa’el Jawad al-Namara, 33, al-‘Amarin’s nephew, an officer of the Preventive Security Service.
Israeli forces claimed that al-‘Amarin was the leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Gaza. Palestinian sources accused Israeli forces of responsibility for the explosion.
Case (9)
Targeted persons:
1. Sheikh Salah Mustafa Shehada, 49, from Beit Hanoun; and
2. Zaher Nassar, 37, from Gaza.
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet attacked an apartment building in a highly populated area in Gaza City, killing 16 Palestinian civilians, including 8 children, and wounding more than 70, mostly children and women. Two women and their five children, and Sheikh Salah Shehada, his wife, daughter and bodyguard, were among the victims. According to statements by Israeli forces, the purpose of the attack was the assassination of Hamas leader, Sheikh Salah Mustafa Shehada, 49, from Beit Hanoun.
At approximately 23:55 on Monday, 22 July 2002, an Israeli F-16 fighter jet launched a missile that weighted 1 ton at a 150-square-meter, two-story apartment building in al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza. Sheikh Salah Shehada, who is wanted by Israel, and his family were living on the upper floor of the building. The missile directly hit the building which located in a highly populated area. The house and two others were totally destroyed and several adjacent houses were seriously damaged. Fourteen Palestinian civilians, including 8 children, the youngest of whom was only 2-month-old, were killed. Two women and their five children, and Sheikh Salah Shehada, his wife, daughter, daughter and bodyguard, were among the victims. More than 70 civilians were also wounded, two of whom are in critical condition. Those killed were:
1. Sheikh Salah Mustafa Shehada, 49;
2. Leila Safira, 45, his wife;
3. Iman Salah Shehada, 15, his daughter; and
4. Zaher Nassar, 37, his bodyguard.
5. Iman Ibrahim Hassan Matar, 27, killed together with her 3 children while sleeping (bodies of the three children were discovered on Wednesday, 24 July, under ruins approximately 10m away from their house) :
6. Ayman Ra’ed Matar, 1˝ ;
7. Mohammed Ra’ed Matar, 3;
8. Dalia Ra’ed Matar, 5;
9. Diana Rami Matar, 2 months;
10. Alaa’ Mohammed Matar,11;
11. Muna Fahmi al-Hweiti, 30, killed together with her 2 children:
12. Subhi Mahmoud al-Hweiti, 4˝ ;
13. Mohammed Mahmoud al-Hweiti, 6;
14. Yousef Sobhi al-Shawa, 32, killed when he was in a visit to his neighbor, who was also wounded in the head;
15. Khader Mohammed al-Se'idi, 72, succumbed to his wound on 9 August 2002; and
16. Miriam Matar, 75, succumbed to her wound on 5 August 2002.
On Tuesday, 10 September, the Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon stated before a session of the Israeli parliamentary committee on foreign and security affairs that he gave orders to assassinate Sheikh Salah Mustafa Shehada on 22 July 2002, although he knew that Shehada's wife and daughter were accompanying him. He claimed that "it was imperative to carry the operation even if the wife and daughter were present."
Case (10)
Targeted person:
Amjad ‘Abdul Hadi Jbour, 35, from Salem Village near Nablus
At approximately 02:30 on Friday, 2 August 2002, Israeli forces invaded Salem village, east of Nablus, and surrounded a number of houses. Approximately 15 minutes later, they raided the house of Rida Eshtayeh and forced him to leave the house and accompany them towards the house of Amjad ‘Abdul Hadi Jbour, 35, a Hamas activist. They forced him to enter Jbour’s house and ordered him to get out with his hands over his head and without clothes covering the upper part of the body.
According to an eyewitness, Jbour left the house unarmed and with his hands over his head. Israeli soldiers took him approximately 40m away from the house.
At approximately 03:25, Israeli soldiers turned off their military vehicle lights and repeated shooting was soon heard. According to the eyewitness, she looked through her window to see what had happened. She saw a person on the ground. Then, Israeli forces left the area. Ten minutes later, the eyewitness’ husband exited to see what happened. He found Jbour’s body on the ground.
He was hit by two bullets in the neck and the chest. Israeli forces at entrances of Nablus prevented the evacuation of the body to hospitals of the city.
Case (11)
Targeted person:
Khaled ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Seif, 41, from Nablus
At approximately 23:00 on Sunday, 4 August, while a number of activists of the Intifada were inside the house of Mohammed Rida Khalil Far’ounia, 38, in Burqa village, northwest of Nablus, Israeli forces invaded the village, and surrounded the house. One of the activists, Khaled ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Seif, 41, received a phone call on his mobile phone.
When he went to the balcony to receive the call, Israeli soldiers shot him dead with several bullets striking his head. Far’ounia went out to investigate. Soon, Israeli soldiers fired at him, wounding him with three live bullets in the abdomen and the chest. His brother Mahmoud then went to the balcony, and saw his brother bleeding. He tried to offer him help, but Israeli soldiers forced him to move way. Far’ounia bled to death.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers left Far’ounia bled for 19 minutes without allowing anyone to offer medical attention. Upon their withdrawal from the village, Israeli forces also arrested four Palestinians.
Case (12)
Targeted persons:
1.‘Ali Mohammed Ahmed ‘Ajouri, 23, from ‘Askar refugee camp; and
2.Murad Suleiman Zuhdi Marshud, 21, from Balata refugee camp
At approximately 00:30 on Tuesday, 6 August, two Israeli combat helicopters launched two missiles at a wooded area east of Jaba’ village, south pf Jenin. Then, Israeli forces searched and opened fire at the area. When the helicopters moved away, residents of the area hurried to check whether there were casualties as a result of the Israeli attack. They found bodies of two young men. Immediately, they called for an ambulance from Palestine Red Crescent Society, which evacuated the two bodies to a hospital in Jenin. Later, the two young men were identified as:
1. ‘Ali Mohammed Ahmed ‘Ajouri, 23, from ‘Askar refugee camp, killed by shrapnel in the upper part of the body; and
2. Murad Suleiman Zuhdi Marshud, 21, from Balata refugee camp, killed by shrapnel in the face and the neck, and four heavy caliber bullets in the shoulders.
The two young men were wanted by Israeli forces for their resistance activities.
Israeli security sources stated that two activists of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade of Fatah Movement were killed in Jaba' village. The same sources claimed that one of them, 'Ajouri, was suspected of having sent a suicide bomber to Tel Aviv. They also claimed that the two activists attempted to escape, but an Israeli military unit shot them dead.
Case (13)
Targeted person:
Ziad Mohammed Da’as, 26, from Tulkarm
At approximately 09:00 on Wednesday, 7 August 2002, an undercover unit of Israeli forces stole into Tulkarm in two trucks that had Palestinian registration numbers, when the curfew imposed on the town was temporarily lifted. They reached the centre of the town. As soon as Israeli soldiers got out of the car, a Palestinian civilian noticed them and shouted warning people of their presence. Israeli soldiers fired at him, wounding him with a live bullet in the shoulder. Ziad Mohammed Da’as, 26, who is accused by Israeli forces of being leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Tulkarm, attempted to leave a building in which he hid in through an external sewage pipeline. When Israeli soldiers noticed him, they fired at him. He was shot by a live bullet in the head. Soon Israeli heavy military vehicles moved into the town and re-imposed a curfew.
An Israeli combat helicopter flew over the town and opened fire at Palestinian houses. Two other Palestinians were wounded. The four wounded were left bleeding and Israeli forces denied the access of medical personnel to them. At approximately 13:50, Israeli forces allowed medical personnel to enter the area, but three of the wounded, including Da’as, already succumbed to their wounds, while the fourth one was arrested. The other two who were killed other than Da’as were:
1. Mohammed Khamis Ra’fat Sa’ada, 19, killed by a live bullet in the shoulder while he was near his shop; and
2. Maher Mohammed Dhib Jazmawi, 17, killed by a live bullet in the head while he was on his way to a school to see results of his brother’s exams.
The fourth Palestinian, Ra’fat ‘Omar Ra’fat Sa’ada, 28, was wounded by a bullet in the right leg and was arrested by Israeli forces.
Case (14)
Targeted person:
Hussam Ahmed Hamdan, 28, from Khan Yunis
On Wednesday, 7 August 2002, Israeli forces assassinated Hussam Ahmed Mohammed Nemer Hamdan, 28, from al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Yunis, who was wanted by them.
In his testimony to PCHR, his brother Eyad said:
“At approximately 12:40 on Wednesday, 7 August 2002, I was at home in al-Amal neighborhood in the west of Khan Yunis, approximately 600m south of “Gani Tal” settlement, northwest of Khan Yunis. I heard sounds of three live bullets fired at the roof of our house. My family and I hurried to the roof, since we knew that my brother Hussam was there. When we arrived at the roof, we found Hussam on the ground bleeding. It was clear that he was dead. I looked at the settlement, where I saw an Israeli tank positioned its border opposite to our house. The tank soon moved back to the settlement. We evacuated my brother to Nasser Hospital. Doctors said that he was hit by three live bullets in the chest.”
The Israeli daily Ydiout Aharanot said t
